520 words.
####The stallion seemed less than interested as Alaine touched him, for which Vigilante was incredibly thankful. It would have looked terrible if the stallion had reacted badly after he had assured her that Nádherné would not mind her touch in the least. She still seemed uncomfortable with it, but Vigilante smiled encouragingly, hoping that she would overcome her nerves very soon. Unfortunately, it would be difficult for her to integrate well into the pack if she was fearful of everyone she met and afraid of horses, as the pack was generally friendly and most members also had horses that they could be found with often. It was understandable that she might be nervous, as she was very new and also had a young son, but it would not do well for her to be afraid of her pack mates. As long as she began to feel comfortable soon, though, Vigilante did not expect there to be any problems. Alaine was a pretty young woman and, once he had gotten beneath her initial nervousness, he had come to realize how friendly she could be. That would be a good thing for her to show to the pack, and after that, the mutt was sure that she would fit in just fine with the rest of them. He had been told this was a pack of misfits, but he had come to realize long ago that it only made them stronger as a pack.
####External pack relations were nothing that he had concerned himself with before, though he had met others from neighboring packs. He did not know anything about the others in the area, however, with the exception of the neighboring tribe. If Cour des Miracles happened to be on good terms with any of the other packs, then Vigilante was not aware of the friendship, but he also did not know anything about negative relationships, either. “Truthfully, I do not know much about whether or not all of the packs get along,” he said, dismissing her apology mentally. He did not mind answering her questions, though he did feel bad for not knowing the answers that would be most helpful for her. “The tribe—that is, AniWaya, which does not refer to itself as a pack—is one that I know we are on good terms with. They also raise horses, although I believe they also raise other creatures, and produce harvests of food, rather than just hunting. They seem very peaceful, so it does not surprise me that we get along well with them. I think the race was a good way to form a bond, although there has been nothing more than that, that I know of,” he added. Of course, there were personal relationships between specific members, but he was sure that went for all of the packs in the area. He considered Susquehanna, a member of the tribe, one of his few closer acquaintances, for example. He had also found company in a lone coyote, and various others from the differing packs. Unfortunately, however, he was not able to say he was knowledgeable in that area.